Of what nature the pastime was we can infer from a few notices. Pepys mentions in the journal of his voyage to Tangiers, under August 27, 1683; ‘Till midnight on the quarter deck, seeing the seamen dance to the harp and sing’ (_Correspondence_, i. 343). And again on September 3: ‘This evening much mirth among the seamen dancing, the sea running high’ (_ib._ i. 346). There was music of some kind on board most men-of-war. In the Bristol, during Teonge’s voyage to the Mediterranean in 1675, the only instruments mentioned are trumpets. When the ship left the Downs ‘our trumpets sound “Maids, where are your hearts?”’ and again as a compliment to the English consul at Scanderoon the trumpets played the same tune. In describing the celebration of Christmas Day music is mentioned again. ‘At four in the morning our trumpeters all doe flatt their trumpetts, and begin at our Captain’s cabin, and thence to all the officers’ and gentlemen’s cabins; playing a levite at each cabine doore, and bidding good morrow wishing a Merry Christmas. After they goe to their station, viz. on the poope, and sound three levitts in honour of the morning’ (_Diary of Henry Teonge_, 1825, pp. 12, 91, 117). Balthorpe’s ship, the St. David, only had a fiddler. On Christmas Day, ‘Our Fidler then did play and sing At cabin door, made steerage ring, With cheerful voice bid them good morrow. I think that he did verses borrow From some famed poet, for he’d sing Brave merry songs made all to ring.’ Before the voyage began, as the ship lay in Portsmouth Road, ‘Our Fidler did in triumph fetch His fiddle from aboard a ketch Called the _Portsmouth_, and did play Oft times to pass the time away. Sometimes to pass sad cares away On Forecastle we dance the Hay; Sometimes dance nothing, only hop about-- It for good dancing passes ’mongst the rout; Yet, on my word, I have seen sailors More nimble dance than any taylors.’ (_The Straights Voyage._) Dr. John Covel gives a still more detailed account of the diversions of the sailors. ‘If the weather be fair and permit it we seldome fail of some merry fellows in every ship’s crew who will entertain us with several diversions, as divers sorts of odde sports and gambols; sometimes with their homely drolls and farses, which in their corrupt language they name interlutes, sometimes they dance about the mainmast instead of a maypole, and they have variety of forecastle songs, ridiculous enough’ (September 1670. _Diary of Dr. John Covel_, p. 104, Hakluyt Society, 1893).